They don’t clean the light switch regularly
Light switches are high-touch surfaces, just like doorknobs, handrails and elevator buttons. They are touched multiple times a day but rarely if ever, cleaned, according to researchers from the University of Houston. According to their findings, light switches, especially those of bedside lamps, are loaded with germs and bacteria.
One of the reasons why light switches are so full of germs is that the cleaning staff has only thirty minutes at their disposal to clean and sanitize each room, which leaves them little time to wipe everything thoroughly. More than that, housekeepers usually use the same sponge and mop to clean various rooms, carrying the germs and bacteria with them. So much that bacteria in hotel rooms has been found to be between two and ten times higher than the levels accepted in hospitals!
They overlook the pillowcases
As comfortable as a bed full of pillows may look like, you’re actually using only one or two (okay, three, if you’re a pillow hugger). The problem is others might have used the same pillows before you. “When you put your head on a pillow it would blow your mind to think about how many other heads have been on that pillow,” says hospitality expert Jacob Tomsky. “Whatever people do in their rooms, pillows are always there. They’re either directly involved or very nearby,” adds Tomsky.
In fact, according to a 2014 Today Show investigation, housekeepers in various hotel chains in the United States placed the pillows on a chair next to the bed while they replaced the bed linens. After that, they fluffed the pillows and put them back on the bed. This practice is really troublesome, especially in light of a new study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. According to the study, asymptomatic patients can spread COVID-19 through the pillows they use.
1 thought on “10 Gross Things Hotels Are Still Doing to Save Cash Despite the Pandemic”
I worked at a hotel that, when they ran out of auto-dispensing laundry chemicals had us use the little guest boxes. Problem is, they didn’t ensure everyone that did the laundry knew about it. A lot of laundry was done without and detergent or bleach. I for one, got extremely ill and almost died.